Slideshow of the Week: Boden’s Birds-Eye Perspective of the 1000 Islands Charity Poker Run

For a first-year event, there’s no doubt the volunteer team behind the 1000 Islands Charity Poker Run in Clayton, N.Y., did a tremendous job. Were there speed bumps along the way? Of course, but there always are when it comes to producing an event with 70 boats in attendance, especially in a small town that’s not used to hosting a performance boat showcase like the event turned into.

Jeff Morgan ran Captain Morgan 2.0 in the inaugural 1000 Islands Charity Poker Run. All photos by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

Following Saturday night’s party that included a couple of emotional speeches from two representatives from the River Hospital’s Veterans’ PTS Program (one of the charities benefiting from the run), event participants like poker run winner Matt Baker, who brought his Bake Sho’ Bak’r  Fountain Powerboats 38 Lightning, Rich Szesnat, who brought his Poor Dirt Farmer Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats SV 50, either turned up the fun at the docks or headed to O’Brien’s, a cool bar and restaurant next to the host venue, the 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel.

Along with several high-end V-bottoms and catamarans such as the wildly popular turbine-powered Aqua-Mania MTI that was front and center during lunch at Clayton’s Frink Memorial Park, highlights included castle explorations and trips to Canada by performance boaters such as California’s Devin Wozencraft, who brought his family and took them sight-seeing in the U.S. and Canada on both Thursday and Friday, and the spectator support along the scenic course that went from Clayton to Ogdensburg and back with a quick run to Cape Vincent and back after lunch.

Check out 20 of Boden’s spectacular aerial images from the 1000 Islands Charity Poker Run in the slideshow above.

You can find pictures of Aqua-Mania, Poor Dirt Farmer and the Wozencraft Insurance Skater in the 20-image slideshow courtesy of speedonthewater.com chief photographer Pete Boden, who was escorted into the air by local helicopter pilot, Ray Chapin of BAC Helicopters. And if you missed the highlights from the lunch stop story—complete with the images I took during my ride in Sandman, an Outerlimits 39 Quatro owned by Dave Weschler of Erie, Pa.—take a peek.

Also for those of you wondering if the event is going to happen again next year—the board members of the non-profit organization announced that the second annual event will take place on July 21, 2018 with registration details to follow.

Editor’s note: Look for an in-depth feature article on the 1000 Islands Charity Poker Run in the July/August edition of Speed On The Water digital magazine.

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Highlights from the 1000 Islands Charity Poker Run Lunch Stop